Russian court reportedly rejects Google antitrust appeal

A Russian court has upheld a regulator’s ruling that Google violated antitrust rules, according to Reuters.

The wire service reported that Russia’s antitrust regulator said Google’s appeal of its ruling had been rejected by a court in Moscow.

ADVERTISEMENT

The regulator said in September that Google had violated antitrust rules by requiring smartphone manufacturers using its Android operating system to pre-install the Google Search application. Russian search company Yandex filed the complaint that led to the ruling.

A Google spokesperson said the company declined to comment because it had yet to receiving the ruling.

Google, based in California and now a subsidiary of holding company Alphabet, has regularly tussled with antitrust regulators abroad.

It is facing a probe from Europe’s competition authority about whether it prioritizes its own comparison shopping service over those from other companies. It insists that while some other services have suffered, some have actually seen improved performance.

The European regulator has also suggested that it might be interested in pursuing other aspects of Google’s business.